The New Guy
by Afatcat101
Summary: Aperture is getting a new 'GLaDOS' to run the facility. What happens when GLaDOS is replaced and Chell is called back to save the facility from possible doom? The gang reunites, picking up some new friends on the way.
1. Aftermath

**[So here's my first chapter. I'm only posting the first one or two chapters, testing out the story. If it's good, I'll keep it going. If otherwise, I'll delete it or something. So, please please please review. For the sake of the story, review and give your thoughts. I need feedback on this story in order to continue with it. So review, and enjoy the story!]**

Chapter 1: Aftermath

A sharp ring echoed through the halls. Young men and women exited each of the doors that lined the halls, and hurried outside. Everyone was celebrating, joking with friends and making plans for the summer, being that it was the last day of the college school year. Almost every student had gotten in their cars, nearly all of the vehicles occupying more than two or three young adults. Only one didn't have a car, and she preferred it that way. She would rather walk the couple of blocks to her apartment than waste the gas and money to drive. Besides, what harm could a little of exercise do now and then?

Chell walked home, in no rush to get anywhere soon, letting the sun warm her skin. Her friend was walking right next to her, blabbing away about parties and plans for the summer.

"Oh! We can go to that movie next weekend! You said you wanted to watch it, right?" Her hyperactive friend chirped excitedly. Chell only nodded, and the girl went right back to talking. For several weeks she's been going through speech therapy, strengthening her voice after 99999- many years of neglect. Although she could talk fairly well, she chose not to; it felt natural for her. Still, she would go through therapy and talk now and again, only because the therapist recommended it.

They finally arrived at the small apartment complex that Chell called home. She turned to her friend and gave her a hug, "We'll make plans, Macy. See you tomorrow." Chell said, giving a small smile and walked up the stairs and to her door. She went inside and to her room, placing her bag on her bed. Sitting on her bed for a minute, she looked at her watch. Only half an hour before work; what could she do until then? A subtle growl of her stomach gave the suggestion of dinner. _Good idea,_ she thought to herself, _I won't be back until late anyway._ She stood up and headed for the door, passing by her closet. The door was only slightly ajar, but just enough to show the corner of a light grey box. This caught her eye, and she changed course for the closet. Sitting peacefully by the door was her first loyal friend. The Companion Cube still glowed faintly, humming the lullaby she had once loved before. Now it only brought bad thoughts and painful memories. Surprisedshe had forgotten about it, Chell pulled the cube towards her and looked over the metallic square. Memories flooded her mind instantly, and she was back in Aperture. She saw empty white rooms, monitors with test numbers, childish Turrets, and worst of all; the menacing golden eye of the giant, bloodthirsty AI. Shivers went down her spine as she stared into the machine, so still, like she was concocting a plan of revenge.

A weak beep brought her back to the present. Chell quickly looked down to her wrist; _4:00_. _Crap!_ She jumped up and ran downstairs; turning her jog into a sprint once she reached the road. She race through the small town, dodging oncoming pedestrians and jumping over a sleeping homeless man. She quickly burst through the doors of a restaurant and went to the back kitchen. Just as she clocked in, her boss walked up.

"You're late again, Chell," He said, although showing no anger towards her. Chell nodded and glanced to the ground; her universal sign of "I'm sorry". The chef nodded to the tables and Chell took off to get to work. She put on her apron, tying it around her waist, and pulled out a notepad ad pen from the pocket. This is where she required words, but being a small town, everyone knew she didn't talk, and instead gave their orders without a word from the waitress. She always happily took down the orders and rushed to give them to the cooks in the back.

One trip towards the back, she ran into a boy the same age. He apologized and helped the girl up, wearing a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Chell. I wasn't looking." The boy said, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. Chell smiled and waved it off, "don't worry about it."

The boy smiled and picked up his ordering pad, "hey, maybe do you think we could hang out? You know, go to a movie or something?" And with that, Chell only nodded and went back to work, leaving the waiter in a dazed thought.

Chell continued through work, just like any normal day, and finally clocked out at eleven PM. She hung up her apron and left through the door, heading straight home for some dinner and some rest. She made a small bowl of Ramen and sat in her room, slurping away at the noodles. The Companion Cube sat in front of her, forbidding her to look at anything else. Her thoughts were constantly focused on the facility and the many horrors hidden beneath its floor. It had been six months since she left the facility; five months and one week since she found this town. For five months she had college and work to keep her mind preoccupied and away from Aperture. To her surprise, she was even beginning to get better; fewer nightmares, fewer ninja-escapes when she heard a buzz or children playing outside, calling "I see you". She was finally gaining control of her life and her PTSD, which she had been titled to by a doctor, was starting to get better. And when she seems fully recovered, she finds her Companion Cube, lost in the darkness of the closet, and everything comes back in the blink of an eye.

She stayed up all night, terrified of sleep. Each time she closed her eyes she was welcomed by Turrets and portals; long jumps and frightening drops; GLaDOS and Wheatly. Wheatley…Chell looked up to the starry sky, wondering if Wheatley was still drifting through the black, alert and alone, or finally out of power and out of his misery. You know, even though he betrayed her and tried killing her, destroying the facility with his moronic decisions, she missed him. Even though he had lost his mind, drunk with power, he was still her friend, in a way. He was the only one that treated her like a real person; talking to her, asking her opinions, helping her escape from the facility (until things took a turn for the worst). Chell sighed and looked back at the ceiling of her room, wishing she could get just one bit of sleep that night. Finally, at long last, exhaustion dominated over nightmares, and Chell fell asleep.


	2. The Calling

Chapter 2: The Calling

"Hello? Hello, are you there?" A voice called from the distance. Chell blinked and looked around, the voice completely waking her up. Seeing her room was empty, she laid her head back on the pillow, figuring it was a dream. The voice called again, this time much too familiar, "Hello? Come on, you've got to be there! I need you!" She sat up instantly and looked up for the source of the voice. "Come on! I can't see anything! Where are you," he called again, full of desperation.

Chell looked to the closet, where the cube sat alone in the dark. She immediately got up and wet to the closet, sliding the door open. "Oh! There you are!" He said, his British accent rich with relief and joy. She only stared at the box, thoroughly confused that it was talking, let alone that it was Wheatley. She wasn't sure to be shocked that the box was talking, confused that it was talking, angry that it was Wheatley, or happy that it was Wheatley. He didn't wait a second before explaining, having noticed the look on her face.

"I know this is a little weird…but it's perfectly explainable! See, I was just sitting in space, like I have been for five months, because of the incident with the…facility…I'm very sorry about that, by the way. Very sorry. It was stupid-"

"Wheatley…" Chell muttered, gaining his attention.

"Sorry! Sorry- wait, did you just talk? Wow, I guess I was wrong about the whole brain damage thing. Sorry again-" He trailed off, she rolled her eyes,

"Wheatley! The story," She reminded him and he hopped right back into his speech.

"Anyway," He said, "so I was sitting there, thinking I was stuck like this forever, until BAM! I blacked out and suddenly woke up back in the facility! I know! Weird, right? So there I was, stuck to the floor- because I was transferred to a new core, but this one looks the same, just not broken- so I was stuck to the floor, when I saw _her_! But she was out. Completely out, deactivated or something. And I know what you're thinking; you're thinking, 'Well, Wheatley, what does this have to do with me? Shouldn't you be happy?' Well, I Am, or...I _was_ until _she_ came back online. But, it wasn't her. It was a male! He sounded mad at first, but then he calmed down a tad. When he saw me he sent me out, telling me to get some test subjects, or else I'd be deactivated for good. And, as you should remember, none of the subjects were…well…alive…So I thought you'd come back, test for a bit, and then maybe...we could…find a way out…again…" he trailed off, realizing how stupid that idea was. Chell stared at him in disbelief at what he was asking. How dare he have the guts to come to her and apologize for trying to kill her, and then ask her to come back and test again? She crossed her arms and glared at the box, not quite sure where the camera was.

Wheatley sighed, "Look, I know that was stupid to ask, but this guy; he's horrible. I mean, he's worse than GLaDOS. That's pretty hard; to be as bad as her, let alone worse. He's horrible, Chell. He's completely changing this place, making it more dangerous or something-" He stopped, figuring that wasn't helping him. After a short pause, he started over, "I hear he's planning on making tests outside of the facility. I'm not sure, but I heard from Rick that he was going to raise the testing facility above ground, making larger, more dangerous tests."

Chell waited a minute, and then sighed, "Who is he?"

"I don't know. He just suddenly appeared and started creating traps and new obstacles and stuff."

Another long pause before she spoke, "Fine…I'll help, " her voice cut off at the end as she stopped to think over her choice a second time. But before she could regret anything, Wheatly spoke again, "Really? Oh that's wonderful! Fantastic! Um…just one tiny problem…do you know your way back here?"

Chell rolled her eyes and dug her Long Fall boots out of the back of her closet, slipping her feet into the high heels. They felt weird for a little, having not worn anything besides sneakers for half a year, but she quickly adapted. She looked back to the cube, debating whether or not to bring it. Deciding to leave it at home, she answered Wheatley's question, "It'll take at least a week."

"Um…I really don't think we have a week, luv," Wheatley chuckled nervously. He paused for a moment, "There's absolutely no other way here?" She shook her head and he sighed, "It'll have to do, then. But hurry as quick as you can. Run if you have to; just be here soon."

Chell nodded and changed to more flexible clothing, put her hair into a ponytail, and went to her front door. She hesitated; she finally gets out of that place, after years upon years of trying to escape, and now she's heading back for the sheer purpose of testing and breaking out again. She sighed, thinking of the life she had outside of Aperture. Obviously she wouldn't go unnoticed. Her friends, coworkers, neighbors; they would be looking for her in a matter of days. Another sigh, _just leave it all behind you. Your life is meant to be at Aperture_, she thought. And that was true. No matter how hard she would try to get away, Aperture would be right behind her, following her every step. Chell gritted her teeth at the thought. There's no point in trying, then. She tightened her fist, straightened her back, and opened the door. So much for freedom.


	3. Return Home

**[Thank you all who have reviewed. Your comments are saving the life of a story! Keep it up! He's pulling through! And, as a bonus for you guys, if you review, you'll have a chance getting a view and review from me. And I give detailed reviews, too, so there's that for encouragement!**

**Anyway, here's the third chapter. If, at all in the story, I happen to change to first person, don't mind it. I'm used to writing in first person, but I've been keeping an eye out. Anyway, enjoy! Thanks again for the comments!**

Chapter 3: Returning Home

Chell trudged through the field, exhausted from the travel and sweating under the blistering heat of the sun. She pushed forward, though, determination controlling her legs until she got to the shed. She leaned against the dilapidated shed and cooled off in the shade, barely noticing the absence of cameras outside. There used to be one right out here, right? She remembered seeing it, staring down at her when she left. Chell shook it off and went to the door, pulling hard to open it. At first try she didn't get it, but she tried again, this time with much more effort, and tore the door open. Immediately the elevator lifted up to her, giving her a ride down under. She hesitated; she still had a chance to turn around and head home, make some tea, and pretend it never happened. No, she didn't walk all this way just to change her mind and back out. Chell stepped in to the elevator and drifted down to the chamber of the new AI. Immediately upon entering the room, she was greeted by a male voice.

"Who are you?" He asked as his optic narrowed, pausing a moment, and then relaxed and spoke again, "Oh, welcome back. Did you change your mind about testing?" He asked, his tone dripping delight. She stared forward at the new machine. It wasn't any different from GLaDOS, structure wise, but instead of a golden optic, it glowed a deep, dark green. The new machine watched over Chell, hoping for a reply. There was no way she was talking to this guy. After a minute of silence, the AI spoke again, "Well, there are plenty of new tests, much harder than before, but based on your file, I can't wait to see how you do."

The lift began lowering, and he spoke again, always so happy. Something about the joy in his voice sent shivers down Chell's spine. She didn't like this one bit. "So, as you can see, there are a lot of changes going on here. I'm making bigger tests, filled with plenty of challenges and mind boggling puzzles. Perfect for someone of your impressive intelligence; finally something to actually challenge you." He spoke enthusiastically as she traveled down into a circular room. The elevator opened and she hesitantly went up the stairs, into a hall. On the side was a monitor, claiming this next room to be "Test Chamber 01".

Chell went through the opened door and looked around the room. It was a large room with plenty of Portal surfaces. She was standing on a ledge, roughly only six feet wide and eight feet coming from the door. Around the small platform was a pit full of some bright blue water. Fifteen feet ahead of her was a podium, holding the all famous Handheld Portal Device. It spun in circles, shooting a green portal in a series of spots on the wall- wait, a green portal? Chell ignored that and looked around for the other portal. She spotted the second portal right above her; this one was a violet-purple. The second she noticed the violet portal, she fell into the ground. The green portal was placed under her, sending her into a continuous loop. Unaware of what was going to happen, and completely sure that wherever she flew, she would fall into the water, she looked towards the gun. She heard the gun fire, and half a second later she was soaring towards the gun. Instinctively she held her hands out and grabbed the device, now waiting for the deadly drop, but, just as soon as she grabbed the gun, several platforms raised and Chell slid into a wall. She stood still, not quite sure how she was alive and on sturdy ground instead of floating in the toxic water.

"Okay, so this wasn't a test; just a fun way to get the Portal Device," The machine chimed in, sounding entertained. Chell snapped out of her momentary daze and looked around the room. Now the whole room was floored; not one danger about. After shaking off the instinctive panic, she started towards the door. Suddenly all of the tiles in front of her fell and she was surrounded by water again, "Just kidding. _Now_ you're testing."

A timer started going off, a row of tiles falling every two seconds. Chell quickly looked around for any way out, finding all the walls and the ceiling was now all metal. She walked around the shrinking square, looking for any surfaces to shoot a portal. An opening lay ahead from her, across the room ad to her right. A small corner of white showed from around the wall it was hiding behind. Chell carefully aimed the gun and shot her green portal. It appeared on the wall right as the last tile fell. In a panic, Chell aimed down and shot her violet portal, hoping she'd make it through before gravity took effect. Fortunately, she ended up falling into the water, along with the floor.

Instantly her body was engulfed in electricity, shocking every part of her. Agonizing pain surged through her limbs, forcing a scream out through her lips. Bubbles rose to the top, each second taking precious oxygen from her lungs. She should have passed out; she should have died from the shock, but she didn't. She just lay in the bottom of the pool, tensing from the continuous surge that went through her body. Suddenly, when she nearly blacked out from lack of air, she was pulled out of the water and throw onto the ground, twitching and gasping for air.

"Good job," The machine said pleasantly, "That was a good idea to put the portal under you, even as you fell. Otherwise you would have drowned."

Chell stay lying on the floor, clinging on to the gun for dear life as she continued to cough up water. "What…was…" She choked out, taking sharp, painful breaths. The AI answered her unvoiced question, "Did you like that? I created it. See, unlike the last deadly water, this one is electrocuted. The last one was just poisonous. Also, you don't die from electrocution. You only die by lack of oxygen. So, the longer you hold your breath, the more you suffer." He chuckled lightly as Chell stayed on her side. She breathed quickly, wincing with every movement she made. This was going to be a long day.


	4. Just Hang In There, Luv!

Chapter 4: Just Hang in There, Luv!

Test Chamber 10: almost 20 hours later. Chell dragged herself to the elevator, not hesitating to slide into a sitting position once the door shut. She had spent her entire life down here, doing tests day after day, and yet she had never been this strained in her life. A quiet groan slipped from her throat as she looked over her left leg. A large burn mark covered her thigh. That came from the last test chamber; where the previous Discouragement Beams were replaced with hidden miniature flamethrowers. Whenever she passed an automated trigger, short, small bursts of fire shot through the walls. She had to pass several of them while trying to get an orb into the receiver, which both the receiver and sender happened to be on separate moving platforms. Chell sighed and closed her eyes, only able to rest for a second before entering the next chamber.

The doors opened and Chell pulled herself up, limping forward to the door. She hesitated upon entering the room, terrified of what awaited her ahead, but nevertheless she walked in. A wall stood in front of her, attached to the right side of the room. A few feet past that wall was another wall attached to the left side. Chell walked to the second wall, fearful of what stood behind it. Bracing the gun in her hands, she stepped out past the wall. A Turret stood ahead, facing away from her. Relief filled Chell and she stepped further out past the wall. Her sense of security vanished when she heard the child-like voiced say, "Firing."

Chell dashed back behind the wall, but not before a bullet pierced through her left shoulder. Pain flared up around the wound. She swung around and leaned against the wall, gripping her arm and sliding to sit on the floor. Chell moved her hand away, noticing it smeared with blood. Instantly her shoulder screamed in pain, stinging and burning from the shot. This was insane. These tests were impossible, even for Chell.

She sat there, unwilling to risk her life further. Why had she agreed to come back? None of this was her problem. She was out of this place for good; she was supposed to be at her home with her friends, not here. Why did she have to be sucked back into this mess? Tears threatened to escape from her eyes, but she held them back, looking directly at a camera in the corner. The male spoke for the first time since the fifth test, "Are you giving up? You can't give up, you're almost done. Here, I'll give you a layout of this test: There are three Full-Rotation Turrets. They're like regular Turrets, but they now have full, three-hundred and sixty degree rotation, also equipped with a second camera in the back, so any movement on either side will trigger an attack. Plus the reaction time is faster than before, and the accuracy is much more precise, thus saving a significant amount of bullets. So you have to get past them and then you're free. Honestly, it's easy compared to the last two chambers."

She refused to move. No more tests, ever. The AI spoke again, "You're doing great, by the way. I mean, most probably wouldn't even make it past the first test, and here you are on test chamber number ten. Good job, now, just three more to go and you'll be finished for good." She still didn't move. The machine grew aggravated, "It was your choice to come back here. You put yourself through this, so finish the test or I will kill you right now."

Growing annoyed with the new AI, she lifted the gun with her right arm and shot a portal at the camera, followed by another next to the camera. The camera dropped to the floor, forbidding him to watch Chell. "Very mature…" he said, his voice rich with annoyance. Chell pushed off of the wall, limping on her burned leg. She went to the door, which was now securely shut, and slammed the gun into it. The device clanged against the metal, its pod-like case slightly cracking from the impact. The speakers crackled, "Hey! Be careful with that!" Chell swung the gun into the door again, completely ignoring the robot.

"You know, if you break that device, you'll be stuck in here. Then you definitely die," he said surely. The woman continued to damage the weapon. After the seventh swing, the cracked shell broke off and the power drained from the gun. "Oh! Great, you broke it!" The AI groaned, "Fine. I'll get the original one; in the meantime, just stay in here," The door opened, leading to the short hall. Chell stood still, crossing her arms. She wasn't going to do _anything_ he said anymore. An annoyed growl came from the machine, and a platform swung up behind Chell, shoving her into the hall. She dropped to her knees, stopping the fall with her hands. Immense pain shot through her arm and leg, and she turned and fell to her back, holding the shot up arm. She lay on her back with her eyes closed, biting down hard on her lower lip. A sharp, metallic liquid spread over her tongue. She lay in silence for a moment, wincing when short jolts of pain spread around her body.

"Hey! Hey over here!" The British core called from her left. Chell instantly turned her head to see the metal ball inside the wall. He squinted, resembling a smile, "Oh I'm so glad you're here. This guy is insane-" He stopped ad looked down at her shoulder, "Are you alright? Oh, that doesn't look good. That really doesn't look good. Oh wow-"

"Wheatley," She hissed, "Shut up!"

Wheatley continued anyway, "Okay, well don't you worry. I'll get you out. Just get up, and we'll be on our way to the Core Confinement Room." He nodded to his side, gesturing where they would go. Chell hesitated, but forced herself to get up. She went towards the wall, hardly noticing her limp, and rushed next to Wheatley. He shut the panels, trapping them in the dark. "One moment," He said and blinked his light on. He looked forward, lighting the way for Chell. She started down the catwalk, followed by the core.

"Okay, hurry, this way." He urged, zooming past the girl when they got to a well-lit area. Chell picked up her pace, ignoring the pain in her legs. She and Wheatley traveled through the facility, just as they had before. She sighed quietly at the memory; they would walk through the facility, her listening silently as he babbled on about what happened back there ad what he did before they met. Wheatley looked at the former test subject, "What's wrong, luv?" She looked up at him with a sarcastic expression and he nodded, "Right. Returning to the tests, seeing me again, I get it. Sorry about this, but you have to believe me when I say you're the only one I could think of that could help."

Chell looked forward, neither accepting nor denying his apology. They walked in silence for a few minutes until they came to a door. Wheatley turned to her, "Well, this is it. The Core Confinement Room. This is where he put all of the cores when he took over. Most of these guys are deactivated; poor fellas…" He dazed off. Chell waited patiently for him to continue, clearing her throat after a while. Wheatley perked up again, "Now, if we're lucky, the other cores should still be okay. These guys are corrupted cores; honestly I don't know why they were created in the first place, probably some idiot working here, thinking it would be fun to make them. I don't know, really, but it's lucky for us, because we're going to use them against _him_."

He paused for a minute, "Okay, I might be able to hack into the room. Just…look away. I-I can't do it while you're looking." Chell rolled her eyes and turned around, hiding the small smile that threatened to show; just like Wheatley to say that. There were a couple of beeps, and then the sound of a door opening. Chell turned around and walked in before Wheatley could speak. He followed, looking around. The room was filled by piles of power-dead cores, not a single one turned on.

"Okay…Um…do any of them look alive to you? Any at all?" Wheatley asked, confused. Chell shook her head and Wheatley sighed, "Well that was a waste of time. I wonder where they are. Do you think he moved them to a different area?" She shrugged. Honestly, she didn't care; she just wanted to leave. The core left the room with her, silently wondering what they were going to do. Suddenly Wheatley beeped quietly, "Oh! He's calling me! Do you think you can go on by yourself for a while?" He asked.

She shrugged, "Where?"

Wheatley spoke, already heading away, "Just follow the rail, you'll figure something out!" And with that, he was gone. Chell sighed and headed off down the catwalk. Well, at least she wasn't testing.


	5. Belly Of The Beast

**[I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed. You're saving a story's life by doing so! Show us your love and give him reviews! Encourage him! He's pulling through, thanks to you!**

**And, I might just give you guys a slice of cake. But only if you review. If not, then sit with your companion cube and enjoy watching us eat our cake. Thanks again guys1 You're really encouraging me a bunch, and I dedicate this next chapter to you all]**

Chapter 5: Belly of the Beast

After an hour of walking through the darkness of the facility, Chell took a break by a large bin. She sat against the bin, looking over her leg. The bleeding had stopped, but it still looked pretty bad. She then looked at her shoulder, pulling her shirt strap down so she could see the puncture wound. It was covered in dark crimson, hardly making the actual hole visible.

"I can fix that," A male playful voice called from the inside of the bin. Chell turned around and looked through the glass window. A core lay behind her, his turquoise optic focused on her face.

"Really," She asked, both confused and curious. The core nodded, "I know where to get medical supplies. There's a room stocked full of it. Just help me out of here and I'll show you where to go." Chell nodded, pulled herself to her feet, and then reached down and picked up the core with one arm. The core quickly turned around and looked over the area.

"Go down that catwalk to your right." He said and Chell followed his instruction, walking down the rail. He gave a few more directions, Chell following obediently, until they came to a dead end. She looked down at the core, who simply looked up at her.

"I thought you said to go this way," she said. The turquoise ball shook his head, "No, I said go to the left. Not the right." The girl made a face, "No you didn't. I heard right."

"You heard wrong. I told you turn right and the exit would be straight ahead," The core argued, catching Chell by surprise. She furrowed her brows, "Exit? You said medical supplies." At this, the core laughed, "I never said that."

Chell stared at the sphere, at a loss of words. He's tells her opposite information every time he speaks. The two remained silent for a few minutes until Chell turned around, going back to where they started. She dropped him in the bin and continued on her way. The core called back to her, "Wait! Don't you want to get to his chamber? I know how to escape this place! Come on, would I lie to you? Seriously, that's insane. I have no reason to lie to you."

The girl stopped, looking back at the sphere, watching after her with desperation. She debated whether or not to bring the core along with her. On one side, he could be telling the truth and then she'd have an easy exit. On the other hand, he could just continue to tell her false information the whole time, resulting in capture or death. The core looked pleadingly at her, "Look, here's the truth. If I don't get out of here soon, I'm gonna be thrown into the incinerator. I'm too young to die, lady. Just help me out this one time."

Chell sighed and went back him, picking him up and carrying him as she walked in her own direction. The ball constantly told her where to go or what to do, but she eventually decided to ignore whatever he said. Eventually he gave up with telling her what to do, instead starting a new subject.

"Well, since we're gonna be stuck together for a while, we might as well get to know each other. I'm Liam. What's your name?" He looked up at her, his optic squinting into a smile. Chell glanced down to him, but refused to speak. She was too focused on finding a way out to speak. Liam waited a moment, "You know, the guy that took over this place is planning on destroying this whole place. He's just gonna blow it all up, start over." She looked down at him; half curious about the potential destruction of the facility, half worried about when it was going to happen. She wondered why he was making a big deal about "improving" this place; wasn't it already dangerous enough? Apparently not. She frowned. Who was this guy, anyway? Where did he come from? What did he want? She looked down to Liam,

"Chell," She said quietly, and then returning to her silent state. Liam nodded and looked forward. They were growing close to a plug in the wall. He grew excited, "Oh! Oh hey, Chell! Plug me into that wall over there. That way I can just ride with you. You'll have your hands free." Chell did as he said ad attached him into the wall. He disappeared under the railing for a second before coming back attached to the rail above her. She nodded and continued walking, Liam following close behind. "So," the core said casually, "How'd you get all the way over here by yourself?"

Chell glanced up to him, "I've been here twice before." The core looked at her curiously, "Really? Wow. I've been here since this place was created. But, I was a big computer back in the early years. Yeah, they kicked me out; didn't think I was calculating right." He snorted. Chell was watching him curiously now and he continued, "I saw this place grow from a simple building with a basement to this huge place. I even saw them create GLaDOS with my own eye." Now Chell was interested.

"Really, now? Who did they base her off of?" She asked, causing Liam to stop. He looked at her for a minute, "What do you mean? She's a made up person. Like the Turrets. You don't think they actually made those things from kids, did you?" Chell stared at him, thoroughly confused. He was making no sense. Maybe he misunderstood what she meant…She shook her head, ignoring the problem, and took a right into a small, pass-by room. The lights were dimmed a dull copper color, instead of the usual white lights. There were two more bins, both filled with broken Weighted Storage Cubes and broken Turrets. Chell looked at Liam with the obvious question in mind: Why is he keeping all of this trash?

"He collects boxes and Turrets. He likes to keep the remains afterwards, using them to make one large test full of them. Hundreds of buttons, hundreds of Turrets, all in one room." Liam said plainly, already heading out of the room. Chell started to follow, when she heard something. She stopped and listened for it again. It sounded like the Turret she saved from the Turret Redemption Line; the "different" one. Liam noticed her hesitation and joined her again in the room. They both stayed silent.

"Hello? Please help! I'm stuck, I can't move!" A quiet voice called from the bin. Chell went to it, immediately moving garbage around. She threw pieces of Turrets around, searching for the caller. The voice cried again, "What's that? Oh, please help me!" Digging through the trash, finally reaching the bottom (which was very painful for Chell, being that she was holding herself with her wounded arm), she came across a small core. The ball looked up at her with a lavender optic, her whole frame shaking. She looked frantically over Chell, "Please don't hurt me."

Chell picked up the core gently, "I won't. You're safe." Still, though, the core rattled in her frame. She held the core against her body in attempt to comfort her. She quickly nestled into the girl's side, still shaking. "What's your name?" The test subject asked. The core looked up at her, "I-I'm a Fear Core." That made sense. Chell nodded and looked at Liam. He only watched, with little interest.

"Well, now that we found Fear, let's get to the supply room already," Liam said, turning to exit. Chell followed, carrying the frightened core. "Supply room," she asked, "I thought we were finding a way out of this place." Liam only pushed forward, "I never said that. You just assumed we were doing that. We're finding the control room-"

"You just said supply room!" Chell interrupted, growing annoyed. The core nodded, "Supply room, control room. They're both the same." The subject growled and followed the core silently. It didn't matter. All she had to do was plug the cores I to GLaDOS' body and let the metal balls do their jobs. She followed Liam through the facility, no longer bothering to ask where they were going. She just held on to Fear, who quivered quietly into her arms. Fear was different from the other cores Chell's seen. She was slightly smaller than the rest, weighing less and fitting easier into the crevice of Chell's arms. Her lavender optic darted around, a small squeak coming from her whenever something made a loud noise or jumped out at the group. Liam sighed irately. He found Fear to be annoying most of the time. Every time she squealed, he would glance down to her, commenting to stay quiet.

Chell simply ignored the both of them and kept walking around. She was still lost as to where she needed to go and what she needed to do, so she eventually decided to explore. Why not? She had the whole place to look, and as long as she wanted to do it. Soon she began leading the group, Liam no longer ahead of her, rather than beside her. She had no idea where she was, but the specific silence of the building told her she was away from moving machinery. It made her uncomfortable, being in the quiet like that. The three came across the Core Confinement Room. Wow, they walked in a huge circle. Chell sighed; well, now what? She looked at Liam, who opened the door and went into the room. He looked around as Chell leaned against the wall to rest. She set Fear by her feet and stretched her good arm. The three sat in silence, all lost in their thoughts; Liam about the damaged cores, Fear about the creepiness of the cores, and Chell about how to get out of Aperture once and for all.

Amid the silence, one core activated. A golden light flickered on and the core blinked into focus. Its pupil dilated as it searched around the room, looking completely horrified and shocked. Once it calmed down, it settled its golden optic on Chell. The eye narrowed slightly and the upper lid lowered a bit, "Oh, you're back."

**[have any ideas who it might be? Hmm, I wonder...]**


	6. Here We Are Again

Chapter 6: Here We Are Again

Chell froze when the core spoke; her tone thick with dissatisfaction, but she could swear she heard relief in those words. She watched the core as she stood to her feet. Liam and Fear were staring at the two, especially the core. The metal ball never moved her stare from Chell as she walked towards her. The test subject picked up the core and looked over her, turning and spinning her around. The core closed her optic and grumbled, "Enough. You're making me dizzy."

"What happened to you?" Chell asked; the core opened her eye and looked curiously over her. "So you _can_ talk after all. I guess you're _not_ brain damaged after all," She said. The girl huffed and rolled her eyes, "Why are you a core, GLaDOS?"

GLaDOS narrowed her optic, "That idiot forced me into it." She paused, "Why _are_ you back, anyway?" Chell subconsciously shrugged, flinching when her arm burned. GLaDOS glanced to her shoulder, "You were here for less than a day and you already got yourself shot. Honestly, I thought you would be more careful than that." The girl winced,

"I was caught by surprise," She said. GLaDOS' pupil widened in disbelief, "You? Caught by surprise? That's hard to believe." Chell glared at the core, "He had Turrets that saw from both sides. I wasn't expecting that." The core narrowed her optic again at the thought of the new AI, "First he puts me into a ball, then he takes over my facility, and now he's creating new tests! I hate him so much."

Chell stopped GLaDOS, "Wait, who is he, exactly?" The sphere focused her golden eye on Chell. She didn't reply for a minute, but quickly started explaining, "He was a virus created to make dangerous ideas. I got him as soon as I was activated. He's how I made all of the tests; lasers, bottomless pits, neurotoxin, Turrets; everything. He brought up the ideas, and I used them." Chell tilted her head slightly in amusemet and smirked, "A virus? You were defeated by a virus?"

The core glared at the woman and defended herself, "Viruses are powerful. Especially him; he continuously grew larger and stronger until he became his own personality. After that, he shut down my functions and transferred me into this core," She slightly shivered, "It was a very painful process." Chell watched GLaDOS, her thoughts racing. As she thought, the two other cores exchanged looks of discomfort. Sure, she was only a core, but GLaDOS was still intimidating. Although, something about her tone was off; she had a softer manner to her voice. They both watched GLaDOS, now all the attention of the room on her. She glanced to the two cores, who quickly averted her stare. She huffed a sigh and looked at Chell, "If you have a plan, feel free to speak; I'm sure you love using your voice, now that you have it."

Chell shook her head and shuffled to the door, leaning against the frame and looking around. To be honest, she had no idea what to do. First she was stuck underground with nowhere to go; now she was stuck underground with nowhere to go, a core that never seems sure of his words, another core that's terrified of everything, and the AI that had tried killing her, in her hands. That was a pleasant thought, actually. GLaDOS was in the grasp of the woman she had tried so hard to kill. Chell had the power over her; _she_ was now towering over the once great machine; _she_ had the ability to end the machine once and for all, with just a high enough drop. Well, there were definitely plenty of those around here. Maybe she would even find a bottomless pit, forcing GLaDOS through eternity of nothingness; just as she had done to Wheatley. A smile crawled across the test subject's face, bringing an uneasy feeling to the core in her hands.

She walked casually out to the railing, looking for the perfect drop, although anywhere would suffice. GLaDOS watched anxiously as the girl went to the edge of the catwalk. Suddenly she reached her arm out, holding the core over the dark abyss. Immediately tremors shook through the metal sphere, and her golden pupil shrunk. She looked up at the girl, staring beseechingly into her artic-blue eyes. "You know, a drop this high won't damage me. I won't even feel it," She said, although the tremble in her voice at the end didn't support her. Chell only raised an eyebrow and lifted her pinky. The core glanced below her, "Go ahead. Drop me. Nothing will happen." Reverse psychology; a usual GLaDOS trick. Chell lifted her ring finger. GLaDOS tilted toward the drop, "Although, I should inform you that I'm the only way to stop this guy." The test subject rolled her eyes, "Help you take over your facility again, just so you can make me test the rest of my life? No way," her middle finger lifted. The core now dangled hopelessly between the woman's index finger and thumb. Her optic shrunk more, showing only a small dot of gold surrounded by black. "I won't. I already gave you freedom, I won't take it away," She shut her optic, anticipating the drop. Chell held her, briefly pondering her words. Deciding to trust her- though she knew it was a bad idea –she swung her arm over ad held the core securely to her side.

A shiver went through the sphere before she opened her optic and looked around, settling on the woman above her. She stood tall, towering over the core. Only then did GLaDOS feel intimidated by the test subject, but she quickly ignored the feeling and allowed relief to spread through her circuits. Chell looked down at GLaDOS, who only looked away, avoiding eye contact with her almost-once-again-murderer. Although, that wouldn't be the first time she had killed the machine, but this time would be different; there would be no possible way to come back. "I don't trust you, but I believe I need you to get out of here," Chell said, walking back to the Core Confinement Room. In there, Liam was glaring at Fear, who was having a small panic attack in the corner. The test subject out GLaDOS down ad lifted the terrified core. She went out and searched for a plug. Once she got to one, she stuck Fear into the wall and waited. Fear just shook more, "I-I don't want to do it. What if it hurts?" Chell shook her head, "It won't. Besides, you'll be safer up there, rather than in my arms. And I can only carry one core at a time, and I'm _not_ plugging GLaDOS in."

Fear hesitated, contemplating the choices. Either she goes in and has more control than GLaDOS, or vice versa. It was an obvious decision, and the core quickly went through the process, disappearing and reappearing on the rail above Chell. He woman nodded and went back to the room, followed closely by Fear, and took the yellow-eyed sphere in her hands. GLaDOS looked baffled by Chell's decision, "You're giving _her_ control?" The woman nodded, her silky black hair bounced in her ponytail, "Because I trust her."

The core sighed, of course not; even though she _did_ willingly give her freedom, when she could have easily thrown her into another test chamber. She didn't, though; she let her continue her short, pathetic human life around other pathetic humans. So, she gives her freedom, friends, a job; everything humans enjoyed in life, and in return, she's shoved into a core that can't even open a door. It was pathetic. She grumbled, becoming aggravated at her thoughts. She needed to distract herself from them, "Fine…If I can't at least lead you towards him, let me direct you. You're not too horribly far."

Chell rolled her eyes and stepped out of the room, followed by the other two cores, and then went where GLaDOS told her. She walked, turned, jumped, climbed; the pain in her arm and leg never weakening. It was the easiest of all of the tests she's ever done, but surely it caused more pain than any of them. She did her best to ignore it and keep going, but sometimes she had to stop, unable to move for several minutes. During those times, nobody spoke; nobody had anything to say; until the last time Chell stopped. She slid down to sit against wall, biting down on her lower lip, holding back the tears that stung her eyes. Everyone sat silently, each entrapped by their own thoughts.

Out of the awkwardness of the moment, Liam blurted out, "I told you there was a room full of medical supplies, I could have fixed it up-"

"Shut up!" Chell hissed, squeezing her eyes shut; now developing a horrible headache. Liam and Fear jerked away, startled at the venom in her voice, while GLaDOS could only stare up at the woman in shock. She had never seen Chell in such an angry state. Obviously she seldom expressed any emotion while GLaDOS had been in charge. Was it the new AI, and his tests? Or was it something else, like actually being back here after finally being let go. Why _did _she come back, anyway? The core debated whether or not to ask, when another core zoomed up to the group.

"Oh, thank God you're alright!" Wheatley said, and then quickly defended himself, "Not that I didn't think you'd be alright! I-I knew you'd be fine. In fact, I wasn't eve coming back here to check on you- I mean…I wasn't checking to see if you were alive, I was just-"

"Shut up!" Chell yelled, her voice turning from a whisper to a near scream. The group all jumped back, and Wheatley apologized, "Sorry. I'm sorry- Hey! You found Liam and Fear! Wonderful…But…ah, um...Who's this other core?" He looked at GLaDOS.

She squinted, "Wonderful, the moron's back…"

Wheatley glared at the core, "I am _not_ a _moron_-" his voice cut short when he realized it was her, "GLaDOS?" She nodded irately and Wheatley laughed once, "I thought you were dead!"

At this, GLaDOS growled, "I thought you were in space."

The core nodded, "_He_ brought me back!"

GLaDOS grew hot, "I should have expected that lunatic to bring a moron back to destroy my facility again." Wheatley growled, "I AM _NOT_ A _MORON!"_

Fed up with the bickering of the cores, Chell flung GLaDOS towards Wheatley, too quick for him to react. Both cores collided; Wheatley sliding back from the impact; GLaDOS rebounding off the Wheatley core, ramming into the rail- barely missing the edge- and settled bouncing along the catwalk. The two cores whimpered at the simulated pain. Chell didn't bother to help either, "Next time, you're both going off the edge." She pushed her hands against her temples; her headache was growing into a migraine. She, too, voiced out a quiet groan and closed her eyes. GLaDOS turned her optic to look at Chell,

"You know, there _is_ a supply room full of bandages and antibiotics," She said, bringing Chell to look at her. Her ice-blue eyes glimmered with joy, "Where?"

"Not too far from here; I'll take you," The core said. Chell picked her up, forcing herself to stand in the process, and looked at her cracked optic. A small smirk crossed her face. Now GLaDOS looked like a golden version of Wheatley. It was amusing to see two opposite characters look early identical. GLaDOS looked over the woman, suspicious of the smile, but deciding to ignore it. She probably didn't know, or care. Instead, she nodded towards the direction Chell was previously heading, "It's actually near my chamber. Just keep heading where I told you." Chell nodded, wincing at her throbbing head, and continued forward to GLaDOS' chamber. The trip wasn't long, but it would have been quicker if Wheatley ad GLaDOS would stop arguing. Chell almost threw the golden core over the edge(by impulse), but she brought herself to hold on tight to the metal sphere. Instead, she would just bump the two together whenever they bickered.

Finally, after an hour of quarreling Back-And-Forths between the cores, and growing headache, they arrived at the room. Chell looked at Wheatley, who proceeded to open the door, and then rushed inside. Lucky for her, she learned plenty about First-Aid in her college, so she was quick to find the supplies and fix herself up. She carefully cleaned her wounds, and even more carefully wrapped them. They didn't hurt quite as bad, but they were still sore. She expected her headache and fatigue pains would wear off in about an hour. Hopefully she won't get any more injuries by then. She thought about bringing some supplies around with her, but concluded that would slow her down. So, instead, she put some pain killers in a hole at the rim of her sock, and continued forward.


	7. Surprise!

**[Thanks for the review! Kepp em comin. He's getting better, but still needs some encouragement1 Come on guys! Save his life, be a hero!**

**But seriously, thanks for the reviews. It's really bringing me out of my self-conscious shell.**

**Enjoy the rest of the story, and keep in mind, if you review, I'll likely read a story of yours and review as well.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own aything here, other than my laptop. Portal goes to Valve, and Valve goes to...themselves, I believe. Don't quote me on that, though.]**

Chapter 7: Surprise!

The three cores followed Chell, who followed GLaDOS' instructions. Nobody spoke, besides the occasional "turn here," from GLaDOS, but Chell didn't mind. In fact, she was grateful nobody talked. She finally had a decent amount of peace and quiet for the day, and that was all she needed to be in a good mood; although, food might help with her crankiness and exhaustion. Of course, there was no such thing down here. The subject sighed to herself as she turned, entering a familiar hall. They were close; this was it, the third time she was going to fight that atrocious body. The third time she would have to fight for her freedom. The third, and hopefully last, time she would have to put her life on the line for one breath of fresh air. She took a breath and entered the room. It was completely empty, as if no one had entered for years. Chell looked around, then at the cores. Liam was confused as ever, looking around curiously; Fear was shivering; GLaDOS had lost her determination to confusion and anger; and Wheatly was…shaking. He avoided any eye contact. That made Chell uneasy, but before she could say anything, the door shut tightly behind them, trapping the group in the room.

A monitor in the middle of the room flickered on to show the AI in a different room. He chuckled at the group, "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever find you again. When you disappeared, I thought you were gone for good, but thanks to Wheatley, you're back." The group instantaneously shot a glare at the blue core, who looked miserably at the ground. They were all furious at him, but out of all of them, Chell was the angriest. She had put all of her trust into him again, and he tricked her. The sphere admired the white floors. The AI chuckled again, "And you've found some friends! Great; just what I need for my new experiment: group testing." A glass wall came up from the ground, attaching to the ceiling around the cores and girl. Shocks went through all of the cores, sending the spheres to Chell's feet, "But first, let's get you all ready for testing." All of the cores shut down, and a gas blew into the small room. Immediately upon breathing it in, the world spun. Chell held onto the wall for support, but only resulted in sliding down the glass, unconscious.

Throbbing pain woke Chell from her enforced slumber. She sat up and reached down to her sock, finding nothing. Her bare skin brought her to open her eyes and look around. Where were her clothes? She looked down to herself to see a baby blue jumpsuit. A disgusted sound came from her throat; not another jumpsuit…Well, at least this one was blue instead of orange. Chell stared at the fabric for a minute until the speaker crackled, "Wonderful, you're awake. Now we can start the tests, but first, there are some rules." _Rules?_ Chell thought, _since when did testing have rules other than survive?_ "First, this is a group challenge, so all of you must cooperate. Whoever doesn't cooperate will be punished, in a very painful way. So, rule number one: Work together. Next, everyone must make it through the tests; nobody sticks around while the others move ahead. So rule two: No man gets left behind. Lastly, if any of you try to escape, you will die…All of you."

With a sigh, Chell got up and wet to the door. Past the doorway was a platform, holding four items. She went to the platform, looking at each. There were two portal guns, one small ring, and one pair of gloves. The ring was the only object that stuck out, color wise; it was black. Chell picked it up and put it on her index finger. She turned her hand around, curious about the random accessories. Whatever; it was _his_ test, he could do what he wants. She pushed her thumb to it, to slide the ring off of her finger; and it made a noise. The ring beeped and a target appeared on the wall ahead of her. Huh, interesting.

Chell touched the ring again, and another target appeared over the previous fading one. Very interesting…

"That's a ping tool," GLaDOS said behind her, "I added it to the Cooperative Testing Handheld Portal Devices just after you left." Chell spun around to see the once AI-to-Core, in a human body. The test subject stepped back with a startled blink, and the woman rolled her golden eyes. Golden eyes; the perfect shade, but dimmed down a bit to look like a caramel-brown. "Another project I've been working on, even before you killed me." Her voice turned sour in the end, "They're very convincing, aren't they?" She smirked. Chell only stared at the woman, looking over her body. Convincing? So they weren't real human bodies? She nodded; very convincing, indeed. GLaDOS looked at her hands and nails, "It took me ages to get them finished. I was nearly done, too, when you escaped and destroyed my facility the first time…" She sighed quietly to herself, an action that surprised Chell even more, "But I got them done…well, I got _this_ one done, but now that I have the machinery and ability to, I could make as many as I wanted, and then I would have an endless amount of test subjects." Chell's expression was one of utter shock and confusion. All she knew was that GLaDOS made a human body, looking exactly like a human body, but, in fact, wasn't human at all. The machine stood in front of her, admiring her own work on the body. She looked completely self-centered doing that. It almost made Chell laugh, thinking of that, but before she could even stifle a cough-laugh, another human walked out of the room.

He walked casually to the two women, looking around the room. He couldn't be more than seventeen. His light blond, messy hair shifted as he admired the room. He crossed his arms and set his turquoise eyes on Chell, "I know an easy way out of this place. I've been here before; all you have to do is jump in the "deadly" water and there'll be a door there."

"Don't listen to him!" Another human, seeming around twenty, blurted out, stumbling towards the group. He had his foot placed improperly in one of the boots, and he twisted his ankle, falling flat on his face by Chell's feet. His curly Auburn hair lay chaotically around his face, and his glasses slid to sit in front of him, cracking slightly in the left side. He scrambled to his feet, putting his glasses on and blushed lightly, "He's, uh…he's a compulsive liar. Don't listen to him."

GLaDOS rolled her eyes while Chell huffed, "That would explain things…" She looked around, "Where's Fear?"

Liam snorted, "Probably hiding." Chell looked at all of the doors, only one being opened. She went up to the closed door and knocked, half searching for a way to get in and half getting her attention. Nobody replied. Chell knocked again, "Fear, come out. It's okay, you're safe out here."

"It's Faith, " Fear cut off, "How did I know that?" Her voice was shaky, like she had been crying. Chell turned and looked back to the group, mouthing the name confusedly, "Faith?"

The boys shrugged, but GLaDOS nodded, "That's her name." She crossed her hands over her golden jumpsuit, "You _do_ know all of the cores came from humans before, don't you? It would be impossible to create a full personality based off of observations and data; a personality is a characterization of the brain-"

"What?" Wheatley cut her off, "Y-you mean…I'm actually a human? You're bloody kidding me! I'm…actually…one of them?"

GLaDOS growled, "Yes, you were. And you were still the biggest moron then, too."

"I AM NOT A MORON! Why do you keep calling me that?" He whined

"Because you ARE a moron! How do you explain your being here? You didn't actually think he would let you sit and watch, did you?" She asked, mostly rhetorically.

Wheatley glanced down, "Well, he said-"

"Of course you believe him…"

"Well, I'm not a bloody moron! Stop calling me a moron!" Wheatley yelled.

"You ARE a moron! You were born a moron, you grew up a moron, and you were used as the Intelligence Dampening Sphere BECAUSE you were a moron!" GLaDOS snapped.

Wheatley growled and lunged towards the woman, arms extended ad directed for her throat. Liam quickly grabbed his shoulders and held him back, but Wheatley kept trying. He started spitting out unintelligible insults, his British accent stronger with his anger. He spat out names, offensive phrases; really, anything that could be thought up. Suddenly he jerked and fell to the floor unconscious. GLaDOS chuckled at the Brit, until, that is, she jerked and passed out as well. Chell and Liam looked at the two, splayed across the floor in their temporary comatose. They glanced to each other, and then Chell turned back to the door, speaking softly, "Like I said…it's safe out here."

After a few minutes of persuading Faith out of the room, the door opened and a young girl walked out. She had to be fifteen, at least, and Chell stared at the girl in shock. They actually took a fifteen-year-old Girl's life and placed it into a core? How could they? Rage built up inside her and boiled in her chest. She couldn't believe they would do such a heartless thing. A short, small scream jerked Chell back to Earth. She turned to see Wheatley sitting up, scooting back against the wall, completely horrified. Seconds after, GLaDOS jumped awake with the same startled yell, and mimicking Wheatley's motion against the wall across from him. The two sat in their dazed state of horror, slightly gasping from the sleep. Eventually they noticed the eyes watching them, ad quickly composed themselves- GLaDOS being the first to notice. She stood up and cleared her throat, but before she could speak, Chell had her against the wall, her arm pushing into the AI's throat.

"What is wrong with you?" Chell hissed, glaring into the woman's golden eyes. GLaDOS glanced to Chell's left, seeing the young girl. She swallowed, attempting to get her voice. Chell had no patience, and pushed off from the woman, bringing her to choke out a cough. "She's fifteen. _Fifteen_! And you transferred her? She's just fifteen!" Chell steamed, throwing gestures towards the girl. GLaDOS looked at Chell, and then Faith, and then Chell again. She cleared her throat, "She was an orphan. It wasn't like I was taking her from anybody that cared about her."

The room went silent. Everyone was either looking at GLaDOS with disgust, or at Faith with pity. Instantly the girl began to tear up, "What do you mean I'm an orphan?" Chell sighed and looked down to Faith, pursing her lips as she thought of what to say. The girl looked at Chell, and then GLaDOS, tears rushing down her face. Just as the woman was about to speak, Faith bolted away, back into her room. Chell immediately glared at GLaDOS, followed by the boys.

"This is even low for you, GLaDOS," Chell said, going into Faith's room. Liam huffed ad helped Wheatley up, both going into their own rooms. GLaDOS watched after them; an odd feeling forming in her stomach.

She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like something she had gotten when she had the Morality Core. Whenever she killed someone, the core would bring a great deal of discomfort and regret. That's how GLaDOS felt; but what was it called? She held her stomach, struggling to find a word for the emotion. She didn't even know the source. Was it because everyone was furious at her? Or did it have to do with what she said about Faith? She sighed. Curse these bodies; giving stronger emotions than what she would normally feel in her own body. GLaDOS looked towards Faith's room, and her stomach tightened when she heard a sob. She ventured over to the room, standing half-hidden behind the door frame, and watched as Chell comforted her. A new feeling joined the first one when she saw them; this one more like astonishment. It shocked GLaDOS to see woman, so strong and stubborn, act so nurturing to the girl.

Chell sat by Faith, lightly rubbing the girls back as she spoke. She rubbed Faith's knee with her other hand. The young girl lay her head against Chell's arm, and Chell moved to allow her to lean against her chest. As Faith cried, the woman soothed her, running her hand through the girl's short, brown hair, and spoke softly.

"Don't listen to her," Chell said, "She's just vicious, horrible person that likes hurting other people."

"She said nobody cares about me…"

"Well she's wrong, because I care about you. I know Wheatley and Liam care about you."

Faith looked up, her irritated eyes filled with joy, "Really? You care about me?"

Chell nodded with a smile, "You're like my little sister. I care a lot about you."

GLaDOS listened carefully, interested in what she said. _You're like my little sister_…That rang in her head for a minute. Why did that sound so odd to GLaDOS? She looked back at the two, curious about their sudden closeness. Now that she paid attention, she could see some surprising similarities between the two. They both had the same nose, very similar eye colors, although Faith's were only a tad darker. GLaDOS mused over these two girls for a minute, watching them smile and talk, like normal people. But when the topic went back to her orphan life, the knot returned. GLaDOS couldn't live with it anymore; she stepped out and cleared her throat. The two girls looked up at her; Faith looking upset and Chell looking furious.

They waited for her to talk, so she looked at Chell, "Can I ask you a question?" Both Chell and she were surprised by the insecurity in her voice. The test subject got up and went out of the room with GLaDOS, crossing her arms and turning to the woman expectantly. GLaDOS cleared her throat, "What's that feeling you get in your stomach after you know you hurt someone?"

Chell furrowed her brows, "Are you saying you feel guilty?" Guilt! That was the word! GLaDOS lit up and nodded, although her excitement turned back to regret immediately. Chell smirked, "You actually feel guilty about hurting Faith?" The AI nodded once more, unsure what to say. "Then apologize," Chell said.

GLaDOS looked at the woman; was she kidding? She would never apologize, unless it was sarcastic…But the thought of the girl, crying from her words, made the knot tighten. She sighed and went to the room, waiting patiently for Faith to look at her. When she did, the woman hesitated; she looked back to Chell, who gestured to move closer to Faith. GLaDOS went and sat on the bed, shooting nervous glares in Chell's direction. Faith sat up and looked curiously at the AI. "Faith," GLaDOS said slowly, "When I said nobody cared about you," she paused, having a surprisingly hard time finding the right words to say, "I was…angry…" She glanced to Chell, who raised her eyebrows and gestured to continue, "I was just saying things out of stress…It was wrong."

Faith listened patiently, enjoying the struggle GLaDOS was going through. The AI continued, stuttering over her last words, "It was wrong, and…I'm..S-s..sorry…" She exhaled a large sigh of relief, finally finished with the forced apology…although, she did feel a little sorry for the girl. But then again, Chell was abandoned, and she didn't care…Her thoughts were interrupted when Faith swung her arms around GLaDOS' waist. The girl was smiling, "It's okay."

"Wow, you're very easy to forgive people…" GLaDOS muttered, surprised by the sudden affection. The girl giggled, causing a chuckle from Chell, "Because, unlike you, I don't like holding a grudge." The AI removed Faith's hands ad stood up, "I don't hold grudges." And with that, she left the room.

Hold grudges…yeah right. If she were to hold grudges, she would have tried killing Chell much quicker than she had. GLaDOS huffed. She glowered at the objects, taking in the separate accessories, and thinking how the virus was creating better ideas than she had. Another huff. The two boys left their rooms, along with the girls, and now everyone was gathered together and finally not fighting. The speakers crackled,

"Good to see everyone is finally working together to stay alive, and we haven't even started testing! How did you two enjoy your naps?" GLaDOS and Wheatley shivered slightly at the memory. The other three were both curious and afraid of what he did to them to make them tremble; especially GLaDOS. The voice continued, "So, there are five things on the table, one of which being in Miss Chell's hand. That is the Ping Ring- like what I did there with the rhyme? The ping ring is a device used to tell partners where to go or stand or place a portal, or what not. There are two portal guns, one shooting a green portal and the other shooting a violet one. Then there's the Anti-Grav Gloves, which, obviously allows you to carry things much too heavy for you, using anti-gravity. Only one to each person."

Chell gave the ping ring to GLaDOS, who hardly cared what she got. Wheatley rushed to get the gun, but stopped when violently shoved away from the table by Chell- she was still furious about his betrayal. She glared at him as she took a gun and gave the other to Faith. She then gave the gloves to Liam. Wheatley frowned, "What about me?" The speakers cackled, "Yeah, I'm thinking. For now you'll have to empty-handed, sorry….now, there will be a room like this after every test, along with an elevator. But, the doors will be locked. I will unlock the doors at nine, and you can all rest until seven in the morning-"

"You're letting us sleep?" Chell asked.

"Yes. I believe tests subjects would test better if given rest, rather than tons of adrenalin," He said. The group traded suspicious glances and he chuckled, "Of course, you all will want breaks from the testing."

GLaDOS rolled her eyes, while the rest of the group nodded. It surprised her that Chell nodded to enthusiastically; were the tests that hard? She eyed the woman curiously until an elevator door opened ahead of them. The group gathered in the lift, and the door shut.

"No! Over _there_, on the _button_!" Chell snapped, directing Liam for the fourth time. He looked where she pointed and grinned, walking over and putting the Weighted Storage Cube on a large red button. He glowed, very proud of his puzzle-solving skills, and Chell growled. She went through the door, followed closely by the rest of the group. They had only done three tests, and Chell had become the leader. She always walked ahead of the group; she looked around the test and explained the goal and how they were going to pass. Nobody complained, though, because, honestly, she was much better at the tests than any of them.

They rode the lift to their Break Room, so they called it, and the bedroom doors opened. With a sigh of relief, everyone relaxed. Liam went to his room, immediately exploring the fridge and his new sense of huger. Faith sat on the floor, playing around with the Anti-Grav Gloves. Wheatley simply dropped to the ground face first, letting out a tired groan, muffled by the floors. Chell chuckled at the man and sat against the wall, leaning her head back ad closing her eyes. It was good to finally get some rest. She had never experienced challenges like these; and it was just the beginning. She shuttered at the thought of future chambers. All of her muscles ached; her cheek stung from a brush with some Razor Gears. Her thoughts went back to that moment; out of her whole life, she had never been that close to death. She simply stepped out from behind a wall, and suddenly a sharp pain spread through her left cheek. The shock knocked her back, holding her hand to the gash. Chell wasn't really sure of what happened, but the look on everybody's face said she had just averted losing half her face. Across from her, the Gear stuck into the wall, sitting in a dent in the panel. Chell's hand absentmindedly went to her cheek, and a voice spoke.

"You've finally met your match, haven't you?" GLaDOS said, sitting next to her. Chell jumped and snapped to look at her. It took a moment to slow her pulse from the scare, but eventually she calmed down, and simply nodded to the woman. She looked at the floor, her mind immediately hazing over with memories of the day.

GLaDOS watched the woman, both out of curiosity and, secretly, a bit worried for her. Her stare was distant; she must be lost in thought. Yet, even as her expression was generally blank, the AI noted very small, very specific details. Her pink lips twisted ever so slightly into a frown; her ice-blue eyes sparkled with fear and loss. Loss of what? What did she lose? GLaDOS pondered over this for a minute. Chell hadn't dropped anything during the tests, surely; she had nothing in her hands other than the portal gun. This was going to kill her, it felt like an obvious answer; curse the human forgetfulness. Before she could ask, Chell stood up and went to her room, the door shutting quietly behind her.

Faith eventually went to her room, leaving GLaDOS alone with Wheatley. She stared at the Brit, unsure if he was even awake, until he sighed, "I always thought _you_ were the worst idea ever to be thought up…"

GLaDOS scorned at him, but he continued, "But then this guy show up, and you seem almost pleasant. I mean, aside from the bossy, rude attitude, like you're the only thing that matters." She huffed and stood up; she wasn't going to sit through his complaining. She went to her room ad sat on her bed. That man was wrong; simply speaking as a moron, but then why did his words replay in her head. _Bossy, rude; like you're the only thing that matters_. That was untrue; if she only thought of herself, the she wouldn't have let Chell go. She huffed and lay back, closing her eyes with a sigh. Instantly her thoughts grew foggy and unfocused; darkness grew, surrounding her mind with a black fog of sleep.


	8. One Person Can Only Take So Much

Chapter 8: One Person Can Only Take So Much

The elevator opened, revealing the next chamber. A screen on the wall marked the room as "Test Chamber 19". Everyone exchanged glances and went forward into the room, Chell still first. Ever since the third test, just over a week ago, Chell was ten times more careful entering a room. She stood against the wall, peering into the room as much as she can. So far it looked safe to enter, so she reluctantly stepped into the room, her body tense and ready to dodge anything. The room was large and completely empty. There were no portal surfaces, completely hindering the group's most valuable ability. Everyone looked at each other, though Chell kept her focus on the room. Something was wrong about this place.

"This test is going to be the last, and it's impossible. Seriously, there is _no_ way out of this thing." The voice chirped and the door behind them slammed shut. He continued, "Just sit down and get comfortable while I start the neurotoxin"

A hiss sounded, warning that gas was entering the room. The AI was kind enough to put a screen on the wall, counting down the five minutes they had before they died. Immediately Liam, Wheatley and Faith panicked. GLaDOS was panicking, but didn't dare express it. She simply stood and watched Chell as she walked around the room, looking at the walls. What was she doing? There was nothing they could do; why couldn't she just give up and accept that she was going to die?

The woman went around, running her hand against the metal panels as she looked around. Her eyes searched the ceiling; the lights; the vents that the gas was coming out of. Wait, she stopped and looked at the vent. There was no hiss coming from that vent. Chell went up to it and placed her hand in front of it; no wind. She looked further into the vent, checking the width and height, thinking they could crawl out, when she spotted an opening. The vent led to an observation room, full of white walls. Instantly, she aimed her gun and shot a portal at the wall, a green oval appearing. She went to Faith, "Shoot at the wall." Faith looked at her with wide eyes, "But it won't do anything."

Chell glanced at the screen, seeing only one minute left, and grabbed the gun from the girl. She aimed it at the wall, praying her theory was correct, and pulled the trigger. A violet ring appeared on the wall ahead, showing an opening to the observation room. Everyone looked at the portal in shock, but Chell quickly pulled them out of their daze, shoving them through the portal, and closing the opening by shooting the portal next to the green. She took a breath, enjoying the fresh-neurotoxin-free-recycled air. Meanwhile, everyone was quietly cheering at the genius Chell was. GLaDOS watched the woman, shaking her head in disbelief, "How did you know?"

Chell avoided eye contact, heading towards the door, "I didn't." She opened the door and went into the hall, followed closely by the rest of the group. Wheatley joined GLaDOS, "How could you not know? That was brilliant! It was like you've done that test before! Though, you probably didn't…but still! Bloody amazing!"

"I saw this room through the vent, and I was just lucky that those walls were hidden portal surfaces," Chell explained quietly, searching the halls for any cameras or danger. The group commented, either expressing their relief or complimenting Chell. She ignored the murmurs, only focused on getting out safely. No doubt their escape was known already. They had to get out fast. She went down a hall coming up to a door. She held the knob, hoping this would be the end and they would be free, and opened the door.

They went inside the room ahead, all freezing in place at the AI ahead of them. He looked at them, his dark green optic glowing with both shock and astonishment, "You're alive…That was unexpected. I really didn't think you'd live. I mean, yeah I just hid the portal surfaces, but there was no way out!"

"Actually, there was a vent that-" Wheatley started, but a sharp elbow to the ribs shut him up. He rubbed his side, looking at GLaDOS, who only glared at him, and the machine chuckled, "I am impressed. Very smart, but fortunately for me, you've just wandered into my chamber, thus resulting in your death."

Suddenly, the robots blacked out, leaving Chell on her own with the AI. She glared up at him, just as she had with GLaDOS and Wheatley. The machine started up the neurotoxin, now just waiting for the girl to die. Naturally, Chell looked around the room for something to help. There was nothing. She had nothing to destroy the machine with. This was it; she was going to die here.

With all hope drained, she looked at the screen, watching the countdown to her last breath of life. The clock ticked, going from five minutes to four minutes, to three minutes and counting. Each minute passing, Chell felt breathing become harder; but still, she fought the panic and stood in her spot. She expected her life to be replaying in her head, but she guessed her life wasn't important enough to remember. Of course she wasn't important to remember; she was nothing but a pathetic girl, given the worst of luck. Usually that thought would hurt her, but i this situation, it made dying easier; it wouldn't affect anyone if she died. Nobody cared. A small smile formed on her lips, bringing the AI to tilt his head in confusion. The clock counted down thirty seconds; Chell fell to the floor, gasping for air. Everything grew fuzzy and muted; sounds were dulled out and blackness started growing around her vision. She looked up to the machine, who was moving around, seeming panicked, and just before she blacked out, she heard a cheery, voice, faded in the background. She couldn't understand what it said; the last thing she heard being, "…prepare for core transfer…"

**[Is this it? Is this finally the end of Chell and the gang? Let me ask you this: Is Chell that easy to give up?]**


	9. Still Alive

**[Those of you who answered, "yes", you're wrong. The answer is no! Of course she's not gonna give up that easily!  
>Although, I have to say I don't like how I ended the story It feels a little cheesy, but hey, sometimes life needs to be a little cheesy, am I right?<strong>

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews and favorites and whatnot, I really appreciate it. And guess what! We're checking the story out of the hospital, and goin to get some icecream! Thanks for giving him your love! He thanks you all.]**

Chapter 9: Still Alive, Why Not?

Everything was dark; pitch black, and silent. Chell felt heavy, numb, and very disoriented and dizzy. She wanted to move her hand to her head, but she couldn't. She couldn't feel anything. Panic surged through her; she was blind, deaf, and now paralyzed. What happened? Where was she? Chell thrashed around mentally, trying desperately to move any part of her body. Nothing happened; Chell sighed, giving up on moving and focusing on trying to remember what happened. The last thing she remembered was walking into an empty room; hearing the voice mark their death; seeing halls, familiar white halls that she's seen her whole life; the AI's chamber. After that it was black. She couldn't remember a thing.

Suddenly the silent state was broken by a small, rhythmic beep. It wasn't loud, but it played peacefully around her. It started inaudible but slowly grew louder. What was it? Where was it coming from? She tried looking around, but only black could be seen. Now she was stuck in a black abyss, forced to listen to this mysterious beeping. Chell sighed mentally. Just then, a brilliantly bright light shone ahead of her. She squinted and turned to face away, but no matter where she looked, the light was directly in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out as much of the light as she could until it dimmed down. When the light faded, Chell slowly blinked her eyes open, now taking in so much more. The first thing she saw was a window, showing a sunset outside, painting the sky with pinks and purples and blues. To the left of the window, closer to Chell, sat an IV and a monitor. On the screen, a line moved, jutting upwards sharply and falling back down, moving in sync with the beep.

Just that small observation made Chell exhausted, and she closed her eyes again. Wherever she was, she didn't feel comfortable being there. She took in a breath, relaxing her muscles, which were no longer numb. Now that she could hear, see and feel again, she didn't mind the silence. Her body was so exhausted; she didn't care where she was anymore; as long as she could sleep. But, before she could even think about sleep, something touched her right wrist. Instinctively she jerked her hand back and looked at her potential enemy, eyes wide. A nurse held out her hands, hushing Chell and telling her it was okay. She gently reached over and held Chell's arm, a sharp pain in her wrist bringing her to jerk away again, which just caused more pain.

"Be careful," The nurse said gently, "Your wrist is broken; I'm just checking on it." Chell scrutinized the woman, looking for any threat. She found none and slowly put her arm by her side, letting the nurse do her job. The woman continued to speak, "It's nice to see you're awake. Everything looks good; you're healing up nicely." She smiled

Chell closed her eyes, hardly worried about a broken wrist. She's had worse. Before she could try to sleep again, the nurse spoke, informing her about visitors. She opened her eyes to see the nurse leaving and a familiar boy walking up. Immediately Chell was awake, "Shaun?"

The boy nodded and smiled, "How are you?"

Chell shrugged, wincing when her left shoulder stung. The waiter sighed, "I was worried- I mean, everyone…everyone was worried you were hurt." He blushed lightly. Chell pursed her lips, unsure what to say. She couldn't tell him the truth. What would she say? I was being forced to do tests by an evil robot? That would only make her sound crazy. Shaun glanced behind his shoulder, "Your friends are being looked at. Well, one of them is, but that's mostly because the doctors think he hit his head. He keeps making up crazy stories, and always changing them up." He looked at Chell, "But your other friends were looked at yesterday, when you got here. They're all walking around the floor downstairs with all of the gift shops and the cafeteria. It's like they've never seen human society before."

Just then, the group, minus Liam, walked in. Wheatley was admiring a coke bottle, "This is amazing! It's like fireworks in my mouth!" He looked up from the soda and smiled at Chell, "Well, good evening, luv!"

Chell couldn't help but smile; she always loved when he called her that. Faith immediately ran up to her and carefully hugged her. Chell hugged back, confused with the sudden burst of emotion from the girl. The look on everyone's face didn't help with the mood either. She looked at GLaDOS, who stood and stared at her with an unreadable expression. Shaun looked at the group, and cleared his throat, "I have to get back to work, I'll see you soon." He stood and quickly left the room. Right then, Wheatley sat by the bed, coke bottle in hand, eyes on Chell, and a smile on his face.

"Have you ever tasted a coke? It's bloody amazing!" He smiled, very intrigued by the carbonated drink. GLaDOS stepped closer, seeming to want to say something. She looked at Chell, then Faith, and the Chell again. The test subject glanced to Wheatley, who only averted eye contact by acting interested in the bottle.

"What?" Chell asked, her voice hoarse. GLaDOS looked at Faith once more, then back to Chell with an amused smile; one very much like the sadistic GLaDOS she was before Wheatley took over.

"Do you remember when I told you about two test subjects in cryogenic with your last name?" GLaDOS asked. Chell nodded carefully and the AI said matter-of-factly, "Well, when I said woman, I may have enhanced the meaning just a bit."

Chell moved to a sitting position, clearly unsure and nervous about the AI's words. She waited, hoping for the woman to continue speaking, but sighed when she didn't talk. "How much," She asked. GLaDOS looked up and twisted her lips, wearing a thoughtful expression. She hummed lightly, completely mocking the mental addition humans do.

"Well…" she said, quickly glancing to the teen by Chell, "She's young enough to be your Half-Sister."

Immediately Chell turned to Faith, who was smiling awkwardly at her, and then to GLaDOS, who was waiting for a reaction. First Chell was shocked; simply surprised by the news. Then, happy that she actually had family; even though she was now a machine mostly. But, like most good feelings Chell got, it disappeared, anger overpowering the previous emotion. She glared at GLaDOS, furious that she not only had her trapped in the facility her whole life, but she also had her sister trapped down there. The AI was quickly aware of the test subject's mood, and her attitude dropped back down to her normal sarcastic-self.

"Oh, come on. You know, normally when someone finds out they have a sister, they'd be overjoyed. You, of course, become furious." She said.

Chell hissed, "You put her into a core! You took her life away from her!"

"Let's be honest, she didn't have much of a life in that orphanage-"

"She could have been adopted!"

GLaDOS crossed her arms, "Her chances of being adopted were very low, let alone being adopted to a good family. I actually saved her from a miserable, lonely life-"

"And instead forced her into eternity of fear," Chell snapped. At this point, Faith and Wheatley were sitting silently, waiting out the argument. The Brit continued playing with the now empty coke bottle, and Faith pulled at a string on her shirt. The women continued this back-and-forth for a few minutes until Wheatley cut in.

"Oh, shut up already!" He said, his British accent more pronounced with his irritation. The two looked at him, expecting a long, awkwardly explained story, but one came. So Chell turned back to GLaDOS,

"Then who was the man? Was it a brother? My father?" She asked irately. GLaDOS rolled her eyes, stubbornly refusing to answer Chell. It was ironic, really; Chell talking and GLaDOS taking position as the stubborn mute. The test subject asked again, becoming annoyed with the AI. Wheatley finally groaned,

"For the love of-" He sighed, "It was me! It was me, in the cryogenic storage, with your last name!"

Chell looked at him in shock, and then to GLaDOS, who nodded with sort of a smirk. That didn't make any sense. Chell and Wheatley were nothing alike. They had no similarities to their appearance or personalities. Well, Wheatley _did_ seem to have a bit of a stubborn attitude at times. And, although usually a moron, _did _have some moments of intelligence. Still, though, they were nothing alike. Seriously, he was British!

"I don't believe you. That makes no sense." Chell shook her head, stubbornly refusing to accept his relation to her.

Wheatley shrugged, "I don't know! All I know is that I have your last name."

"He's your cousin," GLaDOS said, "He was born and raised in Britain. He moved out here when he was twenty. A year later, he took a voluntary job in Aperture. The engineers agreed that he was perfect for the Intelligence Dampening Sphere."

"I'm not a morn, though,: Wheatley muttered, annoyed. GLaDOS laughed once,

"They all agreed that you were a moron. It even said on your personal file, 'Is a complete moron. Lacking vital amounts intelligence.' You truly are stupid."

"I'm _not_ a moron! I'm not!" Wheatley argued, desperate for GLaDOS to see his intelligence. She didn't see it; and instead rolled her eyes and looked at Chell with an annoyed look.

"He's your moronic cousin. And she is your half-sister," GLaDOS said, looking over to Faith. Chell pursed her lips, allowing the new information to sink in. She sighed, looking at Wheatley. The boy was smiling at her with a new perspective on her and Faith. His eyes glistened with excitement like they did when he first got control of the facility. It was a new kind of excitement; one she'd never seen in her friend before. Chell looked over to Faith. The teen was smiling slightly at Wheatley, her already close friendship growing tighter with a new, stronger bond. The sight of these two brought a great mount of joy in Chell. For once she had people to call friends. For once she had people to call family. She smiled.

GLaDOS, recognizing that as her cue, continued speaking, "It looks like you actually have family. Unfortunately, they're stored psychological information inside a computerized brain; not your real family. Most likely the real humans are dead."

Faith and Wheatley grimaced at that, but Chell shrugged, slightly wincing at her shoulder, "I don't care. They're still their normal selves, just not the real bodies." The former cores smiled and GLaDOS shrugged one shoulder uncaringly. She was hardly going to waste energy on worrying about their present state. The room filled with an awkward silence, and the AI sighed.

"I have to get back to my facility. That idiot recolored everything and rearranged my tests." She grumbled to herself, "In a way he was worse than Wheatley…"

"Was? What do you mean?" Chell asked. Wheatley and Faith lit up, whereas GLaDOS seemed to dim with irritation.

"_He's_ even worse…" She grumbled. Chell tilted her head sideways in confusion and Wheatley chirped in.

"Rick and Fact core managed to do a core transfer. While Fact distracted the virus guy, Rick transferred; it was that easy because the stalemate button was taken away. I know, right? And everyone calls _me_ a moron. At least _I _was smart enough to booby trap the button. I mean, he just got rid of it! And Fact got his to say yes at the right time. It was bloody amazing! I really wish I could have seen it. But I was deactivated…because he deactivated us before we could help." Wheatley babbled for several minutes before Chell held her hand up to stop him. She got the point. Rick took over and Virus was now in a core somewhere.

"I'm going to throw him right into the incinerator the moment I get back into my body," GLaDOS said, "And then I'm putting that annoying green ball back with the rest of the corrupted cores."

"Aw, come on," Wheatley whined quietly, "At least let him on the rail. He deserves it for saving your life. If it weren't for him, you'd still be on the bloody floor and Chell would have been dead."

The AI shrugged her crossed arms, looking her posture looking both intimidating and vulnerable together. She looked at Chell, her golden eyes impossible to read. What was going through her head, Chell wondered. Was she just annoyed with humanity? Or was she contemplating what Wheatley said. GLaDOS took a deep breath with a sarcastic smile, "Enjoy your short, sad lives together. I'll be fixing my facility and cleaning up whatever mess that green ball made while I was gone. And, Chell," she looked at the woman with sincere eyes, "Really don't come back this time." She turned and left, stealing a quick glance at Chell before she disappeared behind the wall. The two cores looked at her, and then at Chell, both smiling.

"She's just gone? No last attempt to kill me? No lecture on my wanted absence?" Chell asked in shock. She was more curious about the final look back GLaDOS gave as she left, rather than her quick leaving. Wheatley shrugged,

"She doesn't see a reason, I guess. Hey! Do you want some food? I saw this place that smelled amazing downstairs, absolutely amazing." He said, glowing excitedly. Chell laughed to herself and nodded, "Sure, why not?" The man smiled and took Faith downstairs, leaving Chell to think.

She thought of what GLaDOS said, laying back in the bed and smiling. Her words replayed n Chell's mind. _Really, don't come back this time_. She sounded unsure of her words, but, at the same time, GLaDOS always spoke sarcastically, so her tone shouldn't affect Chell. Yet…it did. The words tugged at her, as if taunting her to go back to Aperture. As if GLaDOS was saying that, knowing Chell would probably end up back in the facility. Was she planning some trap? Or did she maybe really secretly want Chell to come back? Not to test, but just to be there? That made Chell think; what if GLaDOS hadn't deleted Caroline? What if GLaDOS actually liked Chell, even a little? Maybe she was using reverse psychology, hoping the test subject would come back.

She smiled. There was no doubt she would somehow return to Aperture. And even though she didn't, she would still have her Companion Cube, which she now knew could be used as a communication device. Maybe she'd get a call, maybe not. Maybe GLaDOS actually cared to hear Chell's voice, maybe not. But why would she care about such a human as Chell? She closed her eyes, remembering the answer Cave had about why they did what they did...Why not?


End file.
